Steering wheel



` l 646 410 Oct' 25,1927' J. B. LA PIERRE STEERING WHEEL Filed Oct. 2Q.1926 l l? .9 j? "Z8 l 8 I [72067230/1 Zses. 5

Patented ct.v 25, 1927. i

man@ i immane. La PIERRE, o a -cHIe AG.o,'rLL1t-No1s.

v appiaun siga october e0, reati" seiiaifiraiiaeovThis inventionr'elatesfto the manufacture of'steering lwheels of: substantiall'57 woodconstruction.` for use on motor. vehicles and,

r` the like,` and in' whiclitheplane o'fth'. hub,

of the steering wheelI isoffset frointhe p laneofthe rim).

' The purpose o'fft-he construction set'f'o'rth lierein is sotliat thewheel when assembled with'the hub in 4one position is suitable'fortypes' oft cars such as a. Ford7 wherein the plane ofthe rim of the`steering: wheel@ is lower than the hub which is attached tothe upperendof the steering column', fand; when the hub is. assembled in itsopposite position andi the. wheel mounted onthe' steering column, theplane'of1V the rim 'will be above theplane of the hub as in practicallyall automobiles' of the larger'type. I n'this'wayg. the Vparts can'bemanufactured' and `kept in stock 'with the vhubsl separate from theremainder: of the wheeli andy when orders are received"for theparticular type of wheel wanted', the hub can be quickly yassembledv tothe rim:and 'spider' arms in lwhichever position is desired, dependingupon the type of car upon which thesteering wheel is 'to be used.

The main. objects ofthisl invention 'are to provide a wheel of'vallkwood"construction that" is'adaptableA to .all types of'n'iotor cars;to provide a steering wheel in which' the usual" steering wheelretaining nut is' com-` letelv concealed; to; provide a steering wheel'ofv allv wood construction in, which the hub can be quickly andsecurely7V assembled tothe rim and armsgand to provide'an article of'this kind' which willp-resent a smooth and finished appearance and ofstrong and durable construction; An illustrativeembodiment ofthisinven'ftion is shown inl theaecompanyingi drawings, in which: 1

Figure 1" isa steering wheel. A-

Fig. 2" is a lsection t'akenonlthe line 2-2 with the hub assembled tothe arms in one of its positions. y

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line Q-Q of plan view of'A the' improved Fig. 1 with the hub assembled in the opposite' position to that shown inFig. 2.

Fig. 4; is an enlarged detail showing the tongue and groove constructionand ymethod of assembling.

In the construction shown in the drawings, the steering wheel comprisesa rim 1 of usual construction having suitable knobs 2 on the innersideof t'hefriin"v for better'i'engagingitwitlr-the-tingersffandjsimilar knobs 3 on the outery periphery forprovidinghand-holds.4 Radia-llydisposed spider yarms 4 are rigidlymounted at their jfouter ends by lbefr-ig mortisedinthe rim *1;and'eXtend inwardly;

thearmsI being bent so that the inner ends i 5' are ina-f p-lajneparallel toa-ndof'set from thepl-ane o'fthe rim-las shown in Figs. 2 andThe'inner'ends'ofleach ofthe arms arey out; away to providetongues 6which fit complementary grooves 7 formedina hub 8. Means areprovidedforsecuri-ng the complementary overlapping parts ofthe hub 8tothef'arms 4; againstfrel'ative rotation and comprise-fdowelp-ins 9 2 If TheI hub "8 is preferably f formed: of laminated" construction andhas; embedded there-in vaseriesv ofl bolts l0, the heads of which areconcealedunderneath the top laye-r'of lamination so as to be invisiblefrom the top side- 11 of the hub the threaded ends oftheboltsprojecting-a suitable distance 'beyoud the-*surface offthe` hubon the base side/V12.V f Fori mounting thesteeri-ngwheel on to thesteering 'celu-mn"Y of the motor vehicle,v `a metali spider 13 filsyprovided which has -a hub'pltjboredto fit the upstazndingend 15 ofthesteeringcolumn and adapted to be secured thereon bv anut 16. ,Arms 17 onthe -spiderflaredrilledvwitll holes to register witlrthebolts`- 10', and`nuts18 are. tl'i-rea'ded on tliebolts I0 for securingthe spider f3 toLthe" base side 12pt the hub 8. The. huby 8 hasfan annular; recess 8'extending from the base side 1Q thereof as far yas the top layer'oflamination lfor receiving the nut f and.v

steering column e'nfd,l `said nutv being con; sealed'-froin view bythe-top layer of laniination-. 1

I the'manufacture off this wheel, the rim i arms: 415 f are made of'standard stock ,f and'thelaminatedi hub-S8 aref'made up and keptseparately; the groovesl 7 formed the hub 8 being suchthat the hub canbe assembled when clesirecl"\vith the base of the hub facing towards theplane of the `rim or with the top surface 1l of the hub facing towardthe plane of the rim. `Assembling is accomplished by placing the hub inthe same plane as the inner ends of the arms 4 and then rotating the hubrelative to the arms, causing the tongues 6 to .enter the grooves 7 ofthe hub as shown in Fig. 4. These coacting, overlapping surfaces arecovered `with glueprior to beingassembled and when in assembled positionthe dovvel pins 9 are driven into their respective holes and provideadditional means for securing the parts in interlocked relationship.

Being able to carry these Wheels in stock in unassembled conditionyit isonly necessary to maintain halt the amount of stock on handthatWouldfotherwise be necessary if the Wheels Were completely assembled ashas been heretofore'done.-` The metal spiders 13 have various differentsizes of bore and length of hub Vfor fitting on steering columns ofthediiferent makes'of cars.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention has been hereinshown and described, it isto be understood that numerous details of theconstruction shown may be alteredor omitted `Without departing .from thespirit of this invention as defined by the following claims;

I claim: i i 1. Asteering Wheel comprising a iiim, a plurality of spiderarms having their outer ends supportedon said rim, and a hub member,said hub member and the inner ends of saidarms beingprovided withcomplementary ,overlapping parts adapted to interlock Whensaid hub andarm ends are rotated relative to each other in the'same plane.

2. A steering `Wheel comprising arim, a plurality of spider arms havingtheir outer ends supported on said rim, and a hub member, said hubmembery and the inner ends of said arms being provided vvith`complementary tongue and `groove parts adapted to engage each other whensaid hub and arm ends are rotated relative to each other in the sameplane. p Y

3. A steering Wheel `comprising a rim,`a plurality of spider arms havingtheir "outer i y' ends supported on said rim, theinner` ends of saidarms being in a plane offset from the plane of said rim, a hub memberhaving a topk side and a base side, said hub andthe inner ends of saidarms being provided with complementary overlapping parts adapted to iinterlock vvhen said Vhub and arm ends `are Y plurality of spider armshaving their Outer Y rotated relative to each other in the same planeWith either the base side or the top side of saidhubfacing the plane ofsaid rim. 4. A steering` Wheel comprising a rim, a

base side, a metallic spider adapted to be secured on a steering column,and means for attaching said metallic spider to the base side of saidWooden hub, said hub having a recess in the base side thereof forreceiving the upper .end of` the steering column, sai

lecss extending only part Way through said 6. The combination in`asteeringvvheelof a rim, a plurality of Wooden spiderrarms attached tosaidrim, a wooden hub of laminated construction attached to said arms,said hub having a top side and a base side, la plurality of headed studsembedded in said hub with the threaded Shanks thereof protruding fromthe base sideof said hub,` the 1 heads of said studs beingconcealedunder the top side of saidl hub, a metallic spider adapted to be securedon a steering column, said spider having apertures vtherein forreceiving said studs, and nuts on said studs for securing said spidertothe base side of said hub. L y

7. A steering'vvheel comprising a Wooden rim, a plurality ofspidervarmshaving their `outer ends mortised in said'rim, the inner endsof said arms being in a plane parallel to andof-set from the plane ofsaid rim, a Wooden hub member of laminated construction having a topside and a base side, means for attaching said hub tothe inner ends ofsaidarms with eitherthe `base side or theftop side of said hub facingtheplane of said rim, and a plurality of headedstuds embedded in said hubwith their threaded Shanks protruding from the base side of said hub,the v heads of said studs being concealed under the top side of saidhub.

Signed at Chicago this 15th vday of `Oct-0- ber, l192e. JULIAN B; LAPIERRE.

